Hot-shooting Hakeem Olajuwon overcame back spasms to score 15 of
his season-high 33 points in the fourth quarter, lifting the
Houston Rockets to their fifth consecutive victory, 105-96 over
the struggling Boston Celtics.

Olajuwon, who scored 12 points after playing the entire first
quarter, was slowed by spasms in his lower back in the second
period and was limited to one basket in five minutes. After a
massage and ice treatment at the half, Olajuwon's back improved
and he scored 19 points in 19 minutes in the second half.

"I was just trying to get my back loose (at halftime) because it
was tense and spasming," Olajuwon said. "There was nothing
special that we did, we just got it loose. Once we did, I
noticed a difference in my movement.

"I think I am starting to see the benefits of the knee surgery,"
added Olajuwon, who missed 33 games after undergoing surgery on
November 24th. "I am now elevating much better and that is the
key to all of my moves. I am now moving without pain and that
is exciting for me."

Clyde Drexler added 20 points for the Rockets in his first game
since officially announcing that he would retire at the end of
the season to take over as coach at his alma mater, the
University of Houston.

Charles Barkley and Kevin Willis grabbed 12 rebounds apiece for
Houston (35-31), which is four games over .500 for the first
time since January 6th.

The Rockets shot 51 percent (39-for-77) from the field --
including 15-of-20 from Olajuwon -- while holding Boston to 41
percent (39-for-96). Houston also outrebounded the Celtics,
46-38, and outscored them in the paint, 56-36.

"This was a game that I was very concerned about because of
their high energy," Houston coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "I was
very happy with the way that we handled their pressure. I
believe on their last 11 presses, we scored on nine of them.
Olajuwon was a pillar of strength offensively. He got his jump
hook going again and that was great to see."

Ron Mercer had career highs of 31 points and six steals while
Antoine Walker added 23 points for the Celtics, who dropped
their season-high sixth consecutive game and fifth straight on
the road. Andrew DeClercq added five steals and nine rebounds
for Boston, which has had three losing streaks of five games or
more this season.

"It (scoring) doesn't mean anything if you don't win the game,"
Mercer said. "I'd rather have a win any day. I picked out some
weaknesses in their defesne from the last game we played against
them and I tried to go to the hole more and get to the line. I
also tried to be more active defensively with my hands."

Mercer's 17 points helped the Celtics to a 51-45 lead at the
half, but the Rockets scored the last nine points of the third
quarter to grab a 73-71 lead. Mario Elie, who had four points
during the spurt, started it with a dunk before a three-pointer
by Drexler capped it with 15 seconds left, giving Houston the
lead.

After a layup by Elie tied the game with 6:22 to play, the
Rockets outscored the Celtics 22-13 the rest of the way. A dunk
by Olajuwon on Houston's next possession gave the Rockets the
lead for good, 85-83.

A three-point play by Olajuwon increased the Rockets' lead to
90-85 with 4:12 left, but Boston scratched back and cut the
deficit to 94-92 at the 1:51 mark after Walker drained a
three-pointer.

Olajuwon followed with a hook to make it 96-92, and on Houston's
next possession Drexler was fouled by Walker on a three-point
attempt. He hit all three free throws with 51 seconds left to
stretch the Rockets' lead to 99-92.

"Olajuwon's a wonderful player that I hate coaching against,"
Boston coach Rick Pitino said. "Houston is coming on at the
right time. I don't like to lose but I'm as proud of this team
as I have been all year. We'll win some games down the stretch
with the effort we showed tonight."

Houston improved to 9-0 when using the starting lineup of Elie,
Willis, Olajuwon, Drexler and Matt Maloney.